George W. Bush is costing the country more than other ex-presidents

Americans are starting to feel the pinch of the sequestration budget cuts. From canceled White House tours to employee furloughs, the cuts haven’t gone unnoticed.

So it may come as a shock that the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service found that the federal government spent $3.7 million on former presidents last year.

The bill includes pension, compensation and benefits for office staff, travel, office space, and even postage. George W. Bush was found to be the costliest former president, receiving one third of the total bill. George W. Bush costs just over $1.3 million; spending $400,000 on 8,000 square feet of office space and $82,000 on phone calls.

Bill Clinton was runner up with a cost of just under $1 million. George H.W. Bush came in third at $850,000.

So together, the men of the Bush family cost our country around $2.15 million last year.